First Battle of Dragoon Springs
Confederate States |combatant2=Apache |commander1=Sam Ford |commander2=Cochise, Francisco |strength1=unknown militia |strength2=~100 warriors |casualties1=4 killed, unknown wounded |casualties2=unknown }} The First Battle of Dragoon Springs was a minor skirmish between a small troop of Confederate dragoons, of Governor John R. Baylor's Company A, Arizona Rangers, and a band of Apache warriors during the American Civil War. It was fought on May 5, 1862, near the present-day town of Benson, Arizona, in the Confederate Arizona Territory. Background Confederate Arizona was established out of growing dissatisfaction with the territorial government of the United States' New Mexico Territory, which included what are now the U.S. states of New Mexico and Arizona, and the southern part of Nevada.Kerby, Robert Lee. The Confederate Invasion of New Mexico and Arizona, 1861-1862. Tucson, Arizona: Westernlore Press, 1958, pp 25-26. In 1861 conventions held at Mesilla and Tucson advocated the separation of the parts of the New Mexico Territory territory below the Gila River, which would be named "Arizona" and would be aligned with the Confederacy.Sonnichsen, Charles Leland. Tucson: The Life and Times of an American City. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1982, p. 61 This aim became a reality following the Confederate victory at the Battle of Mesilla on July 25, 1861.Horn, Calvin P., and William S. Wallace, Editors. Confederate Victories in the Southwest: Prelude to Defeat. Albuquerque, New Mexico: Horn and Wallace, 1961, pp 17-40, hereafter cited as Horn and Wallace. (This book is a compilation of original documents from the OFFICIAL RECORDS OF THE WAR OF THE REBELLION relating to the campaign in the American Southwest). See also Finch, L. Boyd. Confederate Pathway to the Pacific: Major Sherod Hunter and Arizona Territory, C.S.A. Tucson, Arizona: Arizona Historical Society Press, 1996, pp 74-85. Hereafter cited as Finch. On August 1, 1861, Lieutenant Colonel John R. Baylor, commanding the victorious Confederate troops at Mesilla, issued a proclamation declaring the creation of a provisional Confederate Territory of Arizona, to include all of the former United States Territory of New Mexico south of the 34th parallel north. He named himself as governor, and set up a functioning territorial government which would continue in operation until the Confederates were forced out of New Mexico in July 1862.Proclamation of John R. Baylor to the People of Arizona, reprinted in Horn and Wallace, pp 37-39. See also Walker, Charles S. "Confederate Government in Dona Ana County As Shown in the Records of the Probate Court, 1861-1862," New Mexico Historical Review, Vol. VI (1931), pp 253-302. This Territory of Arizona was officially declared by Confederate President Jefferson Davis on February 14, 1862,Rodgers, Robert L. "The Confederate States Organized Arizona in 1862." Southern Historical Society Papers, Volume 28 (1900), pp 222-227. and shortly thereafter Confederate forces were deployed on the ambitious New Mexico Campaign to gain control of the Southwest. In order to make good the Confederacy's claim to the western portion of the New Mexico Territory, Confederate soldiers, commanded by Captain Sherod Hunter were ordered to occupy Tucson, arriving there on February 28, 1862.Report of Captain Sherod Hunter, April 5, 1862, reprinted in Horn and Wallace, pp 200-201. They occupied the town until May 14, 1862,Finch, p 153 and it was a detachment of these troops which were involved in the fight at Dragoon Springs on May 5. Battle On May 5, 1862, a small mounted Confederate foraging party was gathering stray cattle in the area around an abandoned Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach station and spring in the Dragoon Mountains, about sixteen miles from the present-day town of Benson and near Dragoon, Arizona. A force of about 100 Chiricahua Apache warriors, commanded by the war chiefs Cochise and Francisco, ambushed the party. Four Confederate soldiers were killed, while the rest escaped from the ambush. The Apaches succeeded in capturing a large number of livestock and horses.Finch, pp 151-153. See also Sweeney, Edwin R. Cochise: Chiricahua Apache Chief. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1995, p. 194. This minor skirmish is noted for causing the Confederacy's westernmost battle deaths, and is the only known engagement in which Confederate soldiers were killed within the modern confines of Arizona. It can be seen as related to the Apache Wars fought between Apaches and the Americans between 1851 and 1900. Aftermath A few days later, on May 9, 1862, after hearing of the attack, Captain Sherod Hunter ordered his men to take back the captured herd of cattle and horses, as well as to get revenge for their fellow ambushed soldiers. The Confederates succeeded, recapturing the stolen animals and killing five Apaches for no loss of their own. The four dead soldiers were buried on the field, where they remain today.Finch, pp 151-153 See also *American Indian Wars *American Civil War Notes Sources * Finch, L. Boyd. Confederate Pathway to the Pacific: Major Sherod Hunter and the Arizona Territory, C.S.A. Tucson, Arizona: Arizona Historical Society Press, 1996. * Horn, Calvin P., and William S. Wallace, Editors. Confederate Victories in the Southwest: Prelude to Defeat. Albuquerque, New Mexico: Horn and Wallace, 1961. * Kerby, Robert Lee. The Confederate Invasion of New Mexico and Arizona, 1861-1862. Tucson, Arizona: Westernlore Press, 1958. * Rodgers, Robert L. "The Confederate States Organized Arizona in 1862." Southern Historical Society Papers, Volume 28 (1900). * Sonnichsen, Charles Leland. Tucson: The Life and Times of an American City. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1982. * Sweeney, Edwin R. Cochise: Chiricahua Apache Chief. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1995. * Walker, Charles S. "Confederate Government in Dona Ana County As Shown in the Records of the Probate Court, 1861-1862, New Mexico Historical Review, Vol. VI (1931), pp 253-302. External links * MyCivilWar: The Battle of Dragoon Springs Category:Arizona in the American Civil War Category:Battles involving the Apache Category:Battles involving the United States Category:History of Arizona Category:History of United States expansionism Category:Military history of the United States Dragoon Springs Dragoon Springs